May 28, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1892~ Sierra Club founded.

From Bloomberg today:
Six-year-old boy finds 3,500-year-old tablet.

Earliest “chickens” were actually pheasants.

Lego releases a $380 Lamborghini kit.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

View of the Milky Way in the early morning sky above the pink tajinaste (Echium wildpretii) plants endemic to the Canary Islands in Garafia, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
CREDIT: ANTONIO GPNZALEZ HANDOUT/EPA – EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Pelagia noctiluca (Medusa Luminosa), a species of jellyfish commonly known as the mauve stinger found at a depth of five metres off the coast Lebanon’s northern town of Qalamun.
CREDIT: IBEAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP

A brown bear lies down and relaxes on a beach. The large female collapsed onto her back before rolling over and taking a nap. The photographs were taken in the huge four million acre expanse of Lake Clark National Park in Alaska, USA.
CREDIT: KEN CONGER/SOLENT NEWS
Market Closes for May 28th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1962, in the wake of President John F. Kennedy’s widely quoted (but perhaps apocryphal) remark that “My father always told me that all businessmen were sons-of-bitches,” the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst one-day point drop since the Crash of 1929, as it shed 34.95 points, or 5.7%. On “Blue Monday,” volume was a huge 9.35 million shares and the ticker ran 2 hours and 28 minutes late in recording the day’s closing prices.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were slightly lower after a mixed session Thursday.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.1% as financials retreated following gains all week, while marijuana stocks including Canopy Growth Corp. posted a strong session.
Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set aside record amounts for soured loans in the fiscal second quarter, bringing total provisions for Canada’s six- biggest banks to C$10.9 billion ($7.9 billion) as they brace for the coronavirus pandemic’s economic aftermath.
Shares of Canadian long-term care companies extended their drop amid mounting pressure from Ontario’s government.
Oil rallied as investors looked past an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles to focus on tentative signs of a recovery in fuel demand as well as output cuts.
Optimism that China may end its yearlong trade spat with Canada over canola imports is fading after a court ruling against a Huawei Technologies Co. executive in Vancouver.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $7.35 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,719 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar slipped 0.1% to C$1.3770 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 1.4 basis points to 0.563%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 15,262.73 in Toronto, ending a 4-day gain. The loss follows the previous session’s increase of 0.8 percent.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.8 percent. Novagold Resources Inc. had the largest drop, falling 8.5 percent.
Today, 119 of 229 shares fell, while 108 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.3 percent
* This month, the index rose 3.3 percent
* The index declined 6.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 15.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 36.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5 on a trailing basis and 24.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.4 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.31t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 24.59 percent compared with 24.67 percent in the previous session and the average of 35.45 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -62.3901| -1.4| 6/20
Energy | -5.9230| -0.3| 6/24
Real Estate | -3.7430| -0.8| 14/12
Consumer Discretionary | -2.9474| -0.6| 7/6
Information Technology | 2.7780| 0.2| 6/4
Health Care | 5.3686| 3.2| 6/4
Industrials | 10.1488| 0.6| 14/17
Communication Services | 10.4727| 1.2| 7/1
Utilities | 11.2988| 1.5| 13/3
Materials | 12.1464| 0.6| 19/27
Consumer Staples | 13.4967| 2.1| 10/1
US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks erased gains and ended lower after President Donald Trump said he’d hold a press conference Friday to discuss China, potentially stoking tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The S&P 500 lost an advance of more than 1% on Trump’s announcement, with investors speculating the U.S. will take action against China that could destabilize the global economy, although the precise agenda was unclear. Traders have warily been watching an escalation between Washington and Beijing even as stocks surged for the past two days. Chinese lawmakers earlier approved a proposal for new national-security legislation in Hong Kong, a move Trump’s economic adviser called a “huge mistake.”
“The market’s going to trade on headlines. Could he come out and say something that might spook markets temporarily? Sure, but you know what’s more important than that? The fact that the Fed’s going to stand there with their safety-net,” David Spika, president of GuideStone Capital Management, said by phone.
Stocks fell for the first time in four days falling short of the longest rally of the pandemic era. Small caps that had been surging tumbled 2.5%, while bank and energy shares — darlings of the latest rotation — fell at least 1.6%. Tech also slipped, with Twitter losing almost 5% after Trump turned his ire on the company, threatening to loosen legal protections for social-media platforms.
Earlier gains came as data showed the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic was less severe than anticipated. U.S. states’ jobless rolls shrank for the first time during the outbreak even as millions more Americans filed for unemployment benefits, while readings on durable goods orders and personal consumption beat forecasts. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the economy may already have bottomed.
“The stock market believes the recovery will be about as swift as it possibly can be. It certainly seems to be pricing a very quick and vigorous recovery,” said Jared Kizer, chief investment officer of Buckingham Wealth Partners.
Elsewhere, European stocks climbed amid optimism over economies reopening and a European Union fiscal stimulus plan. Shares rose throughout most of Asia, though the Hang Seng Index flirted with the lowest level since March after the U.S. said it could no longer certify Hong Kong’s political autonomy, a move that could have far-reaching consequences.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell participates in a virtual discussion on Friday.
* Euro-area data due Friday is forecast to show consumer inflation fell to 0.1% in May from 0.4% the previous month.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Russell 2000 lost 2.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.9%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.3%.
* The euro increased 0.5% to $1.106, the strongest in two months.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 107.63 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 0.69%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to -0.42%, the biggest fall in a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.206%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.1%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 2.6% to $33.65 a barrel.
* Gold futures climbed 0.3% to $1,732 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, David Wilson, Yakob Peterseil and Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. 
Give thanks for your food and the joy of living.  If you see no reason for giving thanks,
the fault lies in yourself.
                                   -Tecumseh, 1768-1813

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com